Process and apparatus for downloading data from a server computer to a client computer

• US 6,381,709 B1
• Filed: 04/03/2000
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Steven M. Casagrande
• Original Assignee: Steven M. Casagrande
• Inventors: Casagrande, Steve M., Ioffe, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): BADERMAN, SCOTT T
• Application Number:
  US09/541,184
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 714/18, 714/748, 714/749, 709/203, 709/231, 709/236, 709/238, 707/202
• US Class Current: 714/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A download of a data file from a server computer to a client computer is monitored by the client computer. The download is restarted automatically if a failure occurs. A failure may be a timeout, a loss of a connection, data errors, or other errors that terminate the download. The download may be restarted by instructing the server computer to start reading from a specified offset corresponding to an amount of data that was received reliably by the client, so that data is not unnecessarily retransmitted. This process increases the likelihood that a download will complete successfully. The client program, if specialized for performing downloads, may be stored at the server. In response to a request to download a file, the client program is downloaded first, with the location of the requested file stored within the program. The client program is then executed on the client computer to transfer the requested file. The client program can be made sufficiently small so that downloading of the client program takes little time. The client program can be executed immediately, at a time specified by the user or upon command from the user.

Claims

1. A process for downloading a data file, said data file defining a start of file and an end of file, from a server computer to a client computer, wherein the data file is stored on a computer readable medium connected to the server computer, wherein the process has an application protocol for sending data as a stream of data using a transport protocol over a computer network connecting the client computer to the server computer, comprising the steps, performed by the client computer, of:

initiating a download of the data file as a stream of data by sending, using the application protocol, a request for the data file to the server computer over the computer network;

monitoring data successfully received by the client computer from the server computer, in response to the request;

storing said data successfully received by the client computer;

detecting a termination of the stream of data being downloaded, where the termination may occur anywhere within said stream of data; and

in response to the termination of the download of the data file, automatically restarting the download of the data file by initiating a second download of the data file by sending, using the application protocol, a second request for the data file to the server computer, wherein said download starts at any point within the data file, exclusive of the start of file and end of file, and regardless of the presence of markers, frame boundaries, and other boundaries that may occur within said data.

2. A process for downloading a first file from a server computer to a client computer over a network connecting the client computer to the server computer, comprising the steps of:

sending a request for said first file to the server computer over the network;

receiving from the server computer, in response to the request for said first file, a client program which when executed by said client computer, performs the step of;

initiating a download of said first file by sending a request for said first file to the server computer over the computer network.

3. The process as defined in claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

detecting a termination of the download, and

automatically restarting the download of the data file by initiating another request of the data file, using an application protocol, to the server computer.

4. The process of claim 2 wherein the client program is automatically executed upon its delivery to the client machine.

5. The process of claim 2 wherein the client program is executed by selection of a hypertext link by an HTML browser.